1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to laparoscopic electrosurgical instruments. More particularly, the present invention relates to laparoscopic electrosurgical instruments which perform fulguration and have a pair of grasping conductors and a pair of scissors-like cutting members.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art as is best known to the inventor are laparoscopic surgical instruments which either have bipolar scissors-like cutting members at their distal ends, or have bipolar conductors at their distal end and have a single cutting blade therebetween. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,216 to Tisher; 5,445,638 to Rydell, et al.; 5,458,598 to Feinberg, et al.; and 5,573,535 to Viklund, all demonstrate the feature of grasping bipolar conductors and a single cutting blade on the distal end of a laparoscopic surgical instrument. However, the single cutting blade lacks precision as it pushes tissue significantly prior to actual shearing.
Other devices in the art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,222 to Rydell, are simply bipolar surgical scissors which can carry current through the blades of the scissors to cauterize blood vessels in tissues. However, these devices lack the additional grasping function of conductors.
None of the prior art devices known to the inventor solve the problems addressed by the present invention, namely maintaining hemostasis through cauterization of blood vessels during laparoscopic procedures, while having the benefit of the precise cutting ability of scissors.